Both Erlang and Xue Xie Luo were at the Huang Ji realm, but Xue Xie Luo had far more combat experience, delivering devastating blows to Xianxian. The battlefield had sunk over ten meters, drawing everyone's attention with the sheer intensity of their clash.
Xianxian, though wielding a ninth-grade fierce blade, couldn't instantly acquire the necessary combat experience. The two wolves fought fiercely, accumulating more wounds as the battle raged on for an entire day and night.
Despite the fatigue, Erlang kept fighting relentlessly. Xianxian had lost a significant amount of blood, but her determination remained unshaken. She couldn't afford to lose, not for her grandfather, not for herself, and not for Zhongshan. She absolutely couldn't be defeated!
Xianxian's eyes were swollen from the battle, and Xue Xie Luo wasn't faring much better. Despite his vast experience, Xianxian's growth was astonishing. From being on the defensive initially, she had learned to counterattack within a single day. The fight grew increasingly difficult for Xue Xie Luo, especially with Xianxian's ninth-grade fierce blade aiding her.
"Roar~~~!" Xue Xie Luo let out a ferocious roar, his eyes blazing with a sinister red light. His body suddenly swelled, ready to go all out.
The overwhelming aura charged towards Xianxian, the bloody energy seeming as if it would pulverize her in one blow. Xianxian's expression hardened as she watched Xue Xie Luo's movements. Her ninth-grade fierce blade slashed towards him with fierce determination.
"Boom~~~!"
The fine blade erupted with a vast and powerful energy, sending shockwaves in all directions. At the epicenter, blood mist and dust clouds obscured everything from view. When the dust finally settled, a shocking scene unfolded.
The ground was utterly transformed. The once formidable ninth-grade fierce blade was now embedded in the earth, significantly dimmed and riddled with cracks. Xue Xie Luo lay bleeding from his seven orifices, and Xianxian, covered in blood, stood with one foot on his head, looking ferocious.
"Did she detonate the energy within the ninth-grade treasure?" a minister behind Guo Feng exclaimed in shock.
"This... this! The ninth-grade treasure has degraded to an eighth-grade one!" another person said in surprise.
Xianxian had sacrificed her precious treasure for victory, willing to degrade it by one grade. The once overwhelmingly powerful ninth-grade fierce blade was now just an eighth-grade weapon.
Despite her swollen eyes and severe injuries, Xianxian continued to press her foot on Xue Xie Luo. It seemed she could crush his skull with just a little more force. The ten thousand blood wolves opposite her stirred restlessly.
Xianxian's eyes turned cold as she spat out a drop of blood, which floated in the air. She began chanting what seemed like an incantation, the drop of blood emitting a strange red glow.
"With this blood, I swear, you will forever be loyal to me!" Xianxian declared fiercely.
"Roar~~~!"
Xue Xie Luo refused to submit, and the ten thousand blood wolves in the distance finally grew enraged. A blood oath from the wolf clan? This ability was unique to demonic beasts that could merge their lifeforce into their bloodline. Furthermore, the blood rank had to be higher than the wolf making the oath. Once Xue Xie Luo took this blood oath, his lifeforce could never surpass Xianxian's. He would be eternally inferior, his cultivation regressing to the Nascent Soul stage, never able to stand on equal footing with Xianxian.
Chapter 544: Blood Oath
"Roar~~~!"
The ten thousand blood wolves let out a long howl, their rage palpable. Suddenly, nearly fifty blood wolves, each towering forty meters high, charged towards Xue Xie Luo, seeking revenge and aiming to rescue their king. As these fifty wolves surged forward, the rest followed suit, forming an unstoppable, formidable army.
But at this moment, Sha Po stepped between Xianxian and Xue Xie Luo, facing the oncoming horde of blood wolves with an angry expression. Opening his mouth, Sha Po let out a thunderous roar directed at the blood wolves.
"Roar~~~!"
Sha Po's roar was incredibly powerful, resonating for a full fifty breaths. The sound waves shook the air, stirring up endless currents and causing many lower-ranked soldiers' eardrums to burst and their internal organs to shift. The blood wolves in the sky were shaken to the ground, and those on the ground were forced back by the overwhelming wolfish might, retreating over ten meters and leaving deep grooves in the earth with their claws.
Sha Po, in his Emperor Extreme Realm, was terrifyingly strong. His roar alone was enough to force back the ten thousand blood wolves. This was the power of an alpha wolf, a wolf far superior to their king, a wolf a hundred times stronger.
Most of the ten thousand blood wolves prostrated themselves, choosing to submit. This was the way of the wolf pack. No matter how the wolf riders shouted or commanded, the blood wolves ignored them, bowing low in submission to Sha Po. This was an internal matter of the wolf clan, beyond the interference of the wolf riders.
Seeing Sha Po's overpowering roar, Xue Xie Luo realized how naive he had been. This wolf was so strong that he had no chance of resisting. With no other choice, Xue Xie Luo chose to submit.
Reluctantly, Xue Xie Luo began chanting the unique wolf clan incantation. A faint red glow appeared above his head, and Xianxian's drop of blood slowly descended towards Xue Xie Luo's head.
"Stop him, quickly!" Guo Feng shouted, finally realizing the danger.
Many soldiers of the Da Xun Dynasty charged forward, with the nine who had participated in the duel leading the way.
"Hmph!" Sha Po snorted coldly.
With a flick of his hand, Sha Po struck out with a palm.
"Boom~~~!"
The nine were sent flying, vomiting blood from Sha Po's powerful strike. The others who charged forward were cowed by Sha Po's fierce gaze, collapsing to the ground.
Sha Po's gaze, infused with mental power, obliterated the spirit of anyone it landed upon. No one was left standing.
Sha Po's dominance was overwhelming. How could he be so strong?
"How can the Da Zeng Dynasty have such a powerful individual? How is this possible?" Guo Feng exclaimed in disbelief.
The blood oath was completed. Xianxian released the barely alive Xue Xie Luo.
To Xue Xie Luo's surprise, his cultivation level hadn't fallen. He was still at the Emperor Extreme Realm. How could this be?
At that moment, Xianxian suddenly felt incredibly weak, her body swaying as she transformed into a small half-foot-tall wolf, covered in blood and barely able to stand.
From the dragon platform, Zhong Shan saw this and waved his hand, catching Xianxian and feeding her several pills. Using a spell, he cleansed all the blood from her body, leaving her clean and holding her gently on his lap.
Xianxian seemed utterly exhausted and fell asleep just like that. Zhong Shan looked at Xianxian, shook his head, and chuckled softly.
Below the dragon platform, Sha Po had just obliterated nine people with one strike and now turned his gaze towards the Da Ying Dynasty's side, specifically the group of nine ghosts.
"Let's settle this once and for all," Sha Po said, raising his hand and sending out a powerful palm strike.
From a distance, the Old Wine Man saw the impending danger. He flashed forward and intercepted Sha Po's strike with his own palm.
"Boom~~~!"
The powerful collision of their palms caused the ground beneath them to crack like a spider web. A strong gust of wind blew outwards from their hands, shaking the earth as if in an earthquake. The armies of the three dynasties wobbled, astonished by the two figures in the center of the field.
The Old Wine Man and Sha Po separated, both looking at each other in surprise.
"Emperor Extreme Realm?"
Sha Po was shocked to see that the Old Wine Man was also in the Emperor Extreme Realm.
In the distance, Yan Chongzhi frowned deeply. An equal match with the Old Wine Man?
"Zhong Shan, how about we call this duel a draw between our two dynasties?" Yan Chongzhi quickly suggested.
Yan Chongzhi actually didn't want the Old Wine Man to exert himself too much. The more the Old Wine Man exerted, the more his debt of gratitude to Yan Chongzhi would be repaid. As an emperor, Yan Chongzhi valued such intangible debts highly.
Zhong Shan glanced at Yan Chongzhi, then at the Old Wine Man with a peculiar look, and smiled, "Alright."
The Old Wine Man looked at Yan Chongzhi, then at Zhong Shan, frowned slightly, but said nothing and retreated, rejoining the nine ghosts on the dragon platform.
Sha Po turned to look at Xue Xie Luo, tossing a purple pill into his mouth.
Xue Xie Luo swallowed it immediately, feeling the pill dissolve into energy, quickly healing his wounds and replenishing his strength.
"An eighth-grade pill?"
Xue Xie Luo was surprised by the potency of the pill. He stood up, transforming back into his human form, though still disheveled and injured.
"Thank you!" Xue Xie Luo bowed respectfully to Sha Po.
"Don't thank me, thank the Young Master," Sha Po replied, shaking his head.
Others might not have heard, but Xue Xie Luo was taken aback. Young Master? The one who forced him to take the blood oath was just the Young Master? There was an even more powerful master above this incredibly strong wolf?
Xue Xie Luo was astonished. He looked towards the dragon platform where Xianxian was sleeping on Zhong Shan's lap, his face showing a mix of surprise and curiosity. Clearly, the white wolf he had sworn loyalty to was under the command of this human. And the powerful black-robed wolf also obeyed him?
Who exactly was this person?
Xue Xie Luo wasn't the only one thinking this. Everyone, including Guo Feng, looked at Zhong Shan with eyes filled with suspicion and doubt. Who exactly was he?
Yan Chongzhi also took a deep breath as he looked at Zhong Shan. Just how powerful was this man? Although his dynasty had the strong Old Wine Man, he was there for special reasons and couldn't be controlled by Yan Chongzhi. But on the other side? The black-robed man who was evenly matched with the Old Wine Man showed utter respect to Zhong Shan, behaving like a subordinate. Who exactly was Zhong Shan? The more Yan Chongzhi thought about it, the more he felt a chill run down his spine.